Two Experiences of Excellence

I just returned from a week-long trip to the East Coast with my son’s 8th grade class.  There were about 76 kids and 20 parents, plus the tour guide, history teacher, and two other responsible adults.  On this trip I experienced two things of excellence.

The first was the product of World Expeditions of San Diego, and its owner Steve Ewalt.  Steve put together an amazing itinerary and executed it flawlessly.  We visited Boston, Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Lancaster, PA, New York City, Washington D.C., and took a delightful river raft trip down part of the Shenandoah River.  The itinerary was deep and interesting.  We were moving from about 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. every day.  Steve provided air flights, hotel rooms, bus travel, day tour guides, museum and attraction tickets, breakfasts, and dinners.  It all was executed with grace and purpose.  Steve is excellent!

My second experience of excellence was a big surprise.  While we were in NYC, we went to the Broadway Musical, Mama Mia.  I saw the movie and quite frankly, it was one of the most painful experiences of my life.  When I saw the event on the trip itinerary, I was not happy.

Big surprise:  It was very good! The part of Donna Sheridan was played by Beth Leavel, and she is fantastic.  She has the strongest voice in the cast, and uses it magnificently.  The entire show is very enjoyable.  The boys in our group even liked it.  The girls especially liked it.